Grant from Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley Helps Patients with Low Vision See New Possibilities at Marianjoy

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A grant from the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley has provided Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital with funds to support new assistive technology that enhances treatment options for patients with vision deficits.

A Marianjoy patient completes a therapy exercise on the Dynavision D2 Visuomotor System.

This new technology is already beginning to enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities, Kathleen Yosko, Marianjoy President and CEO.

WHEATON, Illinois (PRWEB)May 02, 2014

Therapists at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital have a new and sophisticated way to treat patients with vision deficits.

A Dynavision D2 Visuomotor Training System, purchased through a $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, is helping care providers better evaluate and treat patients with low vision—a vision loss not easily corrected by eyeglasses, medication or surgery.

“We are very appreciative of the Community Foundation of Fox River Valley for its generosity in providing this grant,” said Kathleen Yosko, Marianjoy President and CEO. “This new technology is already beginning to enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities, while providing opportunities to maximize their abilities to reach their personal and employment goals.”

The device, about the size of a big-screen TV, allows therapists to program customizable exercises that direct patients’ vision to different buttons on the device. Patients with low vision who benefit from the Dynavision System are most often patients rehabilitating from stokes, traumatic brain injuries or other neurological disorders.

Occupational therapist Jenna Verdicchio has found the new technology to be an excellent supplement to traditional therapeutic methods for patients with low vision.

“There are so many uses,” said Verdicchio. “Balance, mobility, vision, coordination, strength—all those things are able to be addressed with the Dynavision equipment.” Her patient, Ken Fisher, has also found the high-tech equipment—originally developed as a training device for professional athletes—to be an excellent tool.

“It’s like Disneyland,” said Fisher. “I want one in my living room.” Fisher added that the equipment has helped him improve his peripheral vision and reaction time.

Among the many uses for Dynavision, Verdicchio said the most obvious has been its benefits within the Driver Rehabilitation program.

“Drivers’ rehab is going to be using this immensely for reaction time and also to work on attending to two different stimuli at the same time,” Verdicchio said.

About the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley
The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley is a non-profit philanthropic organization based in Aurora, Illinois that administers individual charitable funds from which grants and scholarships are distributed to benefit the citizens of the Greater Aurora Area, the TriCities and Kendall County Illinois. For more information, please see http://www.communityfoundationfrv.org.

About Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital
Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital is a nonprofit teaching hospital in Wheaton, Illinois, dedicated to the delivery of physical medicine and rehabilitation programs including stroke, neuromuscular, orthopedic, brain injury, spinal cord injury, and pediatrics. Marianjoy’s state-of-the-art, 128 private room replacement hospital is designed to provide rehabilitative care in a naturally holistic setting. Founded in 1972, Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital maintains an extensive network of inpatient, subacute, and outpatient sites and physician clinics throughout the Chicago area. Marianjoy is a member of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. To learn more, visit http://www.marianjoy.org.